Hermione broke down into sobs, and the way Harry pulled her into a hug made the moment even more heartbreaking for the audience.
Rod really appreciated how much the acting across the trio had improved over the years. Ron completely stole the scene with the raw intensity of his outburst, while Hermione's breakdown felt painfully real, the kind of emotion that didn't seem acted at all.
Harry and Hermione waited for Ron for an entire day, hoping he'd return. When he didn't, they finally packed up and left. They had no other choice.
One morning, Harry absentmindedly played with the Golden Snitch. When he accidentally pressed his lips to it, words appeared across its surface: I open at the close. Around the same time, Hermione discovered the strange symbol of the Deathly Hallows inside The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
They decided to travel to Godric's Hollow, convinced another Horcrux might be hidden there.
At Godric's Hollow, Harry was overwhelmed as he stood before his parents' grave, the weight of their sacrifice finally crashing down on him. Hermione quietly comforted him, giving him space to grieve. That fragile calm was shattered when they encountered Nagini, disguised as Bathilda Bagshot. The attack was unexpected and vicious, and in the chaos, Harry's wand was snapped in half.
With no other choice, Harry took Hermione's wand and kept watch while she recovered. That was when something extraordinary happened. A luminous doe Patronus appeared, glowing softly against the darkness.
"Mum," Harry whispered as he saw it, instinctively following the animal. The doe led him to a frozen lake before slipping beneath the ice. Harry noticed something shining below the surface and immediately began stripping off his outer clothes to dive in.
The scene made it obvious just how absorbed the audience was. Not a single person hollered or joked, even as Troy stripped down to his boxers.
Harry used Hermione's wand to break through the ice, placed it carefully beside his clothes, and plunged into the freezing water. Resting at the bottom of the lake was the missing Sword of Gryffindor. He swam toward it, lungs burning, fingers just inches away, when the Horcrux around his neck suddenly came alive. It tightened and dragged him upward, stealing his breath. Harry thrashed desperately until strong hands pulled him back to the surface and hauled him onto the ice, sword in hand.
Those hands belonged to Ron.
In the next sequence, beautifully shot in a single, unbroken take, Ron destroyed the locket Horcrux. The necklace fought back, tormenting him with cruel visions of Harry and Hermione together, twisting his deepest insecurities into something monstrous. Still, Ron struck it down.
"That's quite graphic for a kids' movie," Rod whispered to Isabel. "I mean, they're basically making out, almost naked."
"Oh, come on, Rod," Isabel groaned. "Can't you just enjoy the movie for once?"
Rod didn't reply and turned his full attention back to the screen.
"Don't say You-Know-Who's name anymore," Ron warned them once they were back in the tent. "He's put a taboo on it. Anyone who says it gives away their location, and Death Eaters show up. They call themselves Snatchers."
Hermione was still clearly upset with Ron, but she forgave him nonetheless. After that, the trio decided to visit Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father.
"Where's Luna?" Hermione asked curiously.
"At Hogwarts," Xenophilius replied nervously as he poured tea for them. His jittery behavior made it painfully obvious that something was very wrong.
Xenophilius then began explaining the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, only for Hermione to take over, calmly narrating the tale of the three brothers. The story unfolded through a beautiful shadow animation, silhouettes dancing across the screen as the three brothers encountered Death and received their gifts. One by one, the tale showed how Death ultimately claimed them all, no matter how clever or cautious they tried to be.
The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak, all gifts of Death, together formed the Deathly Hallows. Whoever united all three would become the Master of Death.
Just as the trio prepared to leave, Xenophilius suddenly shouted, "You can't leave!" His voice then softened, cracking with desperation. "They have her. They have my Luna."
"Who does?" Harry asked, alarmed.
"Voldemort."
The instant the name left his lips, Snatchers appeared, bursting into the house and attacking. The trio grabbed one another and Disapparated just in time, escaping as the Lovegood home exploded behind them.
Their relief was short-lived. The Snatchers followed them to their new location. At first, the trio fought back, spells flying in every direction, but they were badly outnumbered. Realizing they couldn't win, they fled. Just moments before they were caught, Hermione fired a spell directly at Harry's face, transfiguring it into something grotesque and unrecognizable.
The scene then cut to Hogwarts, where a reign of terror had taken hold. Students marched through the corridors in straight lines, heads bowed, fear etched into every movement. They filed into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, now run by the Carrow siblings.
Neville was among the students, and the look on his face shifted from confusion to horror as the lesson began.
"Today, we'll be practicing a very important spell," the female Carrow announced coldly. "It's called the Cruciatus Curse. We covered the theory in the last class, and today, you'll get to practice it on those who deserve it."
The male Carrow opened the classroom door, and four children were pushed inside. Three of them looked like first-years. The fourth was Ginny Weasley.
"These four are serving detention with us," the female Carrow continued. "Their punishment is to be your targets today. So begin."
Neville watched in stunned silence before finally blurting out, "No!"
The room froze. Every head turned toward him.
"What did you say?" the male Carrow asked, stepping closer.
"I said, no," Neville repeated, his voice shaking but firm.
"Don't do this, Neville," Ginny hissed, panic creeping into her voice. Neville didn't move.
The two stared at each other for a long moment before the Carrow raised his wand and yanked Neville into the center of the classroom.
"Alright then. Longbottom here has volunteered to take their punishment," he sneered. "Anyone else want to play the hero?"
When no one spoke, he nodded in satisfaction. "Thought so. Now start practicing. Anyone who can't get the spell right by the end of the session will receive the same from my sister and me. So get started."
Neville braced himself for what was coming. He didn't flinch, didn't beg, and didn't let the fear show on his face, even as the classroom filled with dreaded faces of his classmates like Seamus, Parvati, Lavender, and even a few faces from the other houses. Only a few Slytherins looked a little eager.
Rod loved this little scene that added by the movie that showed Neville's development as a true hero rather than just one who was added only at the end of the movie to kill Nagini.
The scene cut back to the Golden Trio as they were dragged to Malfoy Manor for processing. Bellatrix Lestrange was waiting for them, her sharp eyes immediately narrowing as she studied Harry's face. Suspicious, she summoned Draco Malfoy and ordered him to identify the boy.
Draco stepped closer. He looked at Harry, really looked at him, and the indecision in his eyes was painfully obvious. His parents urged him to confirm it, desperation clear in their voices, but Draco hesitated. His gaze lingered on Harry with dread, fully aware of what would happen if he gave the answer Bellatrix wanted. In the end, he couldn't do it.
The tension built steadily, tightening the room like a noose, until Bellatrix's attention snapped to something else entirely. She spotted the Sword of Gryffindor in the hands of one of the Snatchers, who'd pulled it from Hermione's beaded bag.
"Cissy, take the boys to the dungeons," she ordered coolly. "I need to have a chat with her. Girl to girl."
As Harry and Ron were hauled downstairs, Hermione's screams echoed through the manor, raw and agonizing. In the dungeon, they found Luna Lovegood, Griphook, and Garrick Ollivander already imprisoned, all of them looking hopeless and exhausted, with no clear way out.
Desperate, Harry pulled Sirius's mirror from his sock, the same one he used whenever he felt completely alone. His voice shook as he whispered, "Sirius. Please. Help us."
Moments later, Dobby Apparated into the dungeon, eyes wide and determined, ready to help them all.
He quickly took Luna and Ollivander away, just as Peter Pettigrew arrived to check on the prisoners. Harry and Ron hid, and the instant Wormtail opened the door, they lunged. Ron went for his wand while Harry clamped a hand over his mouth.
Wormtail's silver hand suddenly turned on Harry, wrapping around his throat and choking the life out of him.
"Will you kill me?" Harry gasped. "After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!"
Then something unthinkable happened. The silver hand loosened its grip on Harry and turned on its owner, closing around Wormtail's own throat. Ron managed to grab his wand and tried desperately to pry the hand away with magic, but it was useless. Within moments, Wormtail collapsed to the floor, dead.
The boys exchanged a shaken look before another of Hermione's screams cut through the manor. Without hesitation, they sprinted upstairs.
Bellatrix was torturing Hermione brutally. She'd carved the word Mudblood into Hermione's arm and was turning her fury toward Griphook when Harry and Ron burst in, attacking without restraint. For a moment, it seemed like they might win.
Then Bellatrix grabbed Hermione and pressed a knife to her throat.
Lucius Malfoy reached for his wand, ready to summon Voldemort, when chaos erupted. Dobby loosened a chandelier above them. As it came crashing down, Bellatrix shoved Hermione away, sending her straight into Ron's arms.
Draco raised his wand, hesitating, torn, but before he could cast anything, Harry shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Draco's wand flew cleanly into Harry's hand.
Dobby hurried them together, ready to Apparate them to safety, when Bellatrix hurled a knife at the disapparating group, which included Harry, Ron, Hermione, Griphook, and Dobby.
They landed hard on a quiet beach. Harry immediately rushed to Hermione and Ron, pulling them into a tight hug. Relief flooded him, but it lasted only a second.
Dobby staggered nearby, clutching his stomach. A dark knife protruded from his body, the same one Bellatrix had thrown.
"Not Dobby!" someone cried out in distress somewhere in the theater.
"You heartless witch, Rowling!"
More than a few people were openly sobbing as Harry clutched Dobby to his chest, tears streaming down his face. Even Rod couldn't stop himself from wiping away a tear as one of his favorite minor characters met such a heroic end. He'd known this moment was coming, yet it still hit him far harder than he'd expected.
Harry buried Dobby by hand, digging the grave himself and laying the house-elf to rest beneath a simple marker that read: Here lies Dobby, a free elf.
The scene then cuts to Voldemort desecrating Dumbledore's grave, prying the wand from his lifeless hand—the Elder Wand.
After Harry finished mourning, the story returned to Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur's home by the sea. There, Harry reunited with the people they'd rescued from Malfoy Manor, including Ollivander and Griphook. Ollivander explained the truth about the wand Voldemort was seeking, while the trio questioned Griphook about Bellatrix's vault, convinced she'd hidden something of great importance there.
"She kept asking me, 'what else did you take'," Hermione muttered angrily when the three of them were alone. "I'm sure she's hiding something valuable in that vault. Probably a Horcrux."
Harry thought it over before nodding. "You-Know-Who gave his diary to Lucius Malfoy and relied on Regulus Black's elf to hide the locket, so it's definitely possible that he used Bellatrix as well."
They came up with a plan to break into Gringotts using Polyjuice Potion, helped by the convenient fact that one of Bellatrix's hairs had fallen onto Hermione while she was being tortured.
Harry slipped beneath his Invisibility Cloak, while Ron donned fake hair, a beard, and a mustache to make himself look older. Together, they entered the bank, drawing suspicious looks almost immediately, mostly because of Hermione's stiff, unnatural walk.
At the counter, the goblin teller grew even more wary. Harry, still invisible, quietly cast the Imperius Curse, forcing the teller to comply and escort them to the vaults.
The vault ride was a thrill to watch on the massive 3D screen. Every twist and turn felt visceral and immersive until they passed beneath a cascading waterfall known as the Thief's Downfall. The spell-stripping water sent them tumbling violently from the cart.
They pressed on toward the vault and soon came face to face with a massive dragon guarding Bellatrix's treasures. With Griphook's help, they made their way inside. The vault was overflowing with gold trinkets and artifacts. They searched desperately through the chaos until Harry's gaze locked onto a single object.
A cup.
He recognized it instantly, remembering a memory he'd seen the year before, Tom Riddle standing beside Hepzibah Smith. This was shown through a brief flashback.
"That's it!" Harry exclaimed, lunging forward to grab the cup. At the same moment, Hermione accidentally brushed against one of the gold trinkets scattered across the vault floor. Instantly, it began to multiply, just like the others, spreading chaos through the room.
Harry fought his way through a horde of endlessly replicating objects, forcing himself forward inch by inch. Just as his fingers finally closed around the cup and he was about to come out of the vault, Griphook snatched it from him.
"The cup for the sword," the goblin said forcefully.
Reluctantly, Harry handed over the Sword of Gryffindor. Griphook tossed the cup to Hermione in return, then turned and fled, abandoning them without a second thought. The trio barely had time to react before Gringotts' security came rushing, spells raining down around them.
Harry's mind raced, and then he had it. The plan was daring, reckless, and borderline suicidal, but it was their only chance. Without hesitation, he sprinted forward and leapt onto the dragon's back. Hermione and Ron followed seconds later. Together, they broke the dragon's restraints and urged it upward with their spells.
It responded.
Above them, goblins working in the bank felt the building tremble. Confusion turned to terror as the shaking intensified, until the floor exploded beneath them. A dragon burst free, fire spilling from its jaws as panic spread through Gringotts. A powerful, soaring musical score filled the theater as the dragon unfurled its wings and rose into the open sky, finally free at last.
Rod hadn't consciously noticed it before, but now it struck him just how exceptional the film's score was. It felt completely original, and the dragon's theme came close to matching the iconic magic of Hedwig's theme from the first film.
Once the dragon had flown far enough from Gringotts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione leapt from its back into the ocean below, letting the creature disappear into the distance. Beneath the water, Harry's mind suddenly connected with Voldemort's. He saw it all click into place. Voldemort had realized the truth about the Horcruxes and understood that Harry was hunting them.
"We have to go to Hogwarts," Harry said urgently once they surfaced. "I can feel it. You-Know-Who's scared of something there, something he's desperate to protect. I think it's Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. That's the last one we're missing."
Ron and Hermione exchanged a worried glance before nodding in agreement. There was no more running.
It was time to return to Hogwarts.
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AN: Check out my second story, 'Swimmer to Superstar (A Hollywood SI)'.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com